Gear failure - the sailors nightmare

Sailing these kinds of distance, gear failure is inevitable. Daily walks around the deck enable many potential problems to be spotted early, and action taken.

Even so some things can't be foreseen and you have to take action when it goes wrong.

With a bang the port jib sheet car exploded. Not a spare I carry - pity, it's a vital piece of deck gear. Luckily the tracks on the side deck have exactly the same cars. A quick swop - problem resolved.

They say things come in threes. Leaks into the forecabin, broken jib cars, what next?

Sadly not all problems are as easy to overcome. One critical failure last night resulted in serious debate. Should we return to Antigua or St Maartin for a replacement? We broke the potato peeler!!!

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